SIGNALInfrastructure Software·Jun 16, 2026, 2:41 PMSignal75Short term

Crooks found a new way to collaborate using Teams – by hiding command-and-control traffic

Source: The Register

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Crooks found a new way to collaborate using Teams – by hiding command-and-control traffic

Custom malware routed communications through legitimate Microsoft services, making malicious activity look like routine corporate collaboration

Why this matters
Why now

Cybercriminals are increasingly sophisticated, constantly seeking new methods to evade detection, leading to the exploitation of legitimate cloud services for malicious activity.

Why it’s important

This development highlights the evolving threat landscape where trust in ubiquitous enterprise tools is being subverted, making traditional security perimeters less effective and increasing the difficulty of network defense.

What changes

The use of legitimate Microsoft Teams services for command-and-control traffic shifts the burden of detection from network perimeter security to endpoint and insider threat monitoring, requiring more advanced behavioral analytics.

Winners
  • · Cybersecurity firms specializing in EDR and behavioral analytics
  • · Microsoft (if they quickly develop detection/mitigation)
Losers
  • · Organizations relying solely on traditional network firewalls
  • · IT security teams with limited visibility into internal network traffic
Second-order effects
Direct

Increased difficulty in detecting advanced persistent threats by blending malicious traffic with legitimate business communications.

Second

Heightened scrutiny and potential restrictions on how mainstream collaboration tools are used within enterprise environments.

Third

Accelerated investment in AI-driven security solutions capable of discerning anomalous behavior within encrypted and legitimate service traffic.

Editorial confidence: 90 / 100 · Structural impact: 60 / 100
Original report

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